Ronald Lauder congratulates Benjamin Netanyahu, urges world leaders to work with the PM Featured

NEW YORK, The president of the World Jewish Congress, Ronald S. Lauder, today congratulated Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu on winning Tuesday’s Knesset election. “Israel is one of the world’s great democracies and once again, its people have shown this through a free and open democratic election. Prime Minister Netanyahu has demonstrated his tremendous leadership abilities over the years along with his incredible dedication to the Jewish state of Israel,” Lauder said in a first reaction.

“At a time that has seen a dangerous increase in anti-Semitic attacks throughout the world, the next few years will be a challenge for Jews everywhere, and I look forward to working with Prime Minister Netanyahu to make the world a safer place for all people.”

“I urge world leaders to respect the result of this democratic ballot and to work closely with Prime Minister Netanyahu and his new government in the months and years ahead. In a volatile Middle East, Israel’s right to exist as a democratic, Jewish state must be safeguarded, the security situation in the Middle East must be improved and the government must ensure that Israel can continue to be the economic and scientific powerhouse it has become in the past decades,” said Lauder.

With 99 percent of the ballots cast tallied, Netanyahu’s Likud won 30 seats and will be the largest party in the new Knesset, Israel’s 120-member legislature. The opposition Zionist Union led by Isaac Herzog became the second force, winning 24 seats.